Data center cooling

Abstract

A modular data center, for housing and cooling electronic equipment, includes multiple housings, a first portion of the housings configured to hold heat-producing electronic equipment and a second portion of the housings configured to hold at least one cooling unit, each of the housings of the first portion having a front and a back and configured to hold the heat-producing electronic equipment such that gas is drawn into the equipment from fronts of the equipment, heated by the equipment to become heated gas, and expelled by the electronic equipment is expelled through the backs of the housings, where the housings are disposed and coupled to form a laterally-enclosed arrangement laterally enclosing a hot region and defining a top opening allowing gas to vertically exit the hot region, and where backs of the housings of the first portion are disposed adjacent to the hot region such that the heat-producing equipment, when mounted to the housings, will expel the heated gas into the hot region.

1. A modular data center for housing and cooling electronic equipment, the data center comprising:
 a plurality of housings, a first portion of the housings configured to hold heat-producing electronic equipment and a second portion of the housings configured to hold at least one cooling unit, each of the housings of the first portion having a front and a back and configured to hold the heat-producing electronic equipment such that gas is drawn into the equipment from fronts of the equipment, heated by the equipment to become heated gas, and expelled by the electronic equipment through the backs of the housings; 
 wherein the housings are disposed and coupled to form a laterally-enclosed arrangement laterally enclosing a hot region and defining a top opening allowing gas to vertically exit the hot region; and 
 wherein backs of the housings of the first portion are disposed adjacent to the hot region such that the heat-producing equipment, when mounted to the housings, will expel the heated gas into the hot region. 
 
   
   
     2. The data center of  claim 1  further comprising the at least one cooling unit, the at least one cooling unit being configured to draw heated gas from the hot region into the at least one cooling unit, cool the heated gas to become relatively cool gas, and to expel the heated gas from the at least one cooling unit to a cool region that is separated from the hot region. 
   
   
     3. The data center of  claim 2  wherein the at least one cooling unit is configured to direct the cool gas toward fronts of the first portion of the housings. 
   
   
     4. The data center of  claim 3  wherein the at least one cooling unit is configured to direct the cool gas toward bottom portions of the fronts of the first portion of the housings. 
   
   
     5. The data center of  claim 2  wherein the at least one cooling unit is configured to cool the gas to, and expel the gas at, approximately 72° F. 
   
   
     6. The data center of  claim 2  further comprising an uninterruptible power supply coupled to the at least one cooling unit and configured to provide backup power to the at least one cooling unit.